The Virtual Void
by SadieYuki
Summary: The name's Nara Sorori. I've been travelling to Lyoko ever since I was nine with my older bro and twin sis. But one day, they disappeared while we were there. Now, I've met the new Lyoko gang, and maybe they can help me find my bro and sis. --OddxOC--
1. An Attack Forms Allies

**Disclaimer:**

**I do not own Code Lyoko, only my own characters.**

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(In Jeremy's room)

"Only a couple more visits to Sector 5 and we'll have enough data to figure out the anti-virus!" Jeremy told everyone.

"That's good, but there's something on my mind," Aelita said to him.

"Like what? The only thing on my mind right now is what I'm gonna have for dinner tonight!" Odd said, rubbing his stomach.

"Typical Odd," Ulrich muttered. "What were you saying, Aelita?"

"Well, it does seem that X.A.N.A. has become a lot more aggressive lately, but I can't figure out why," said Aelita.

"Don't worry about it; I'm sure X.A.N.A. is just worried that we've been kicking his butt lately. I don't think X.A.N.A. likes second place," Odd told her.

"I guess you're right, but I can't help but think that there is something else."

"I'm sure it's nothing, Aelita," Yumi said with a smile. "Anyway, I've got to get home, it's getting late."

"See you tomorrow Yumi," Ulrich told her, "we should all get back to our rooms too before Jim catches us."

"Okay, and we'll head to the factory tomorrow morning before class," Jeremy told them.

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(Next morning at the factory)

"Okay guys, get to the scanners," Jeremy said as he got off the elevator and walked over to the chair and put on his headset.

"We're all ready down here, Einstein," Ulrich said.

"Okay, I'm starting up the virtualization process. I'm sending you guys to the Mountain region. Odd and Ulrich will go first, then Yumi and Aelita. Okay, transfer Ulrich, transfer Odd. Scanner Ulrich, scanner Odd. Virtualization," Jeremy said while typing away at the keyboard. Odd and Ulrich appeared in the region and landed on the ground. A minute passed and Yumi and Aelita appeared as well. "Okay the transporter is a few minutes away, direction, north northeast. Here are your vehicles."

The overbike, overwing, and overboard appeared in front of the gang in Lyoko. Yumi jumped on the overwing, Ulrich got on the overbike, and Odd and Aelita got on the overboard. They had been traveling for a minute when Odd's eyes widened in terror.

"Oh no, it's impossible," Odd muttered.

In front of them, an army of about 100 Blocks blocked (no pun intended) their way.

Jeremy was saying the same thing looking at his computer screen, "X.A.N.A.'s gone all out this time guys, be careful."

"What are you talking about, Einstein? We can't fight this many at once! We'll get crushed!" Ulrich said, drawing his sword.

"I don't think we have a choice, there are more of them behind us," Aelita said.

"We'll just have to give it our best then," Yumi said, heading toward the army of blocks, taking out her fans. The rest of them followed suit, but before they reached the wall of blocks, a dark figure rushed by them, faster than Ulrich in his super sprint, and immediately took out twenty or so blocks. When she was done with her first attack, she ran up to join the dumbfounded group.

She wore a skin-tight silver jump suit with black decorative stylings in the shape of flames along her sleeves that formed a glove. There was a blue wristband on her left arm over the glove. She had a black miniskirt that was connected by black ribbons to a tight, black collared vest. She wore knee-high black boots with buckles running along the side of them. There were black ribbons that laced around both of her highs. She had long hair that was as black as her clothes, and was tied up into a ponytail by a silver ribbon. She had piercing, crystal blue eyes.

"It looks like you guys could use some help," she says to them.

"No, it's okay, we don't need help," Odd starts before Yumi jabs her elbow into his gut, "but you can -cough- join in if -cough- you want -cough-."

"Yeah, I think I'll do that," she says before running forward again. This time, she uses her energy blasts to dig into the ground.

"See, she's outta her mind, she's aiming at the ground," Odd says.

Ignoring them, the girl kept at it until she was deep enough to make a tunnel. The blocks forgot about the mystery girl and started to advance towards the gang.

"Looks like we've got some trouble again," Aelita said.

"Stay behind us, Princess," Ulrich said, about to set off before Yumi stopped him.

"Wait, look," she said, pointing towards the center of the blocks. The ground beneath the blocks started shaking a bit, and then, very violently. As the ground continued to shake, black waves started to emerge from the center of the army.

"Those look like pulsations, but black," Aelita said confused.

"That can't be, there isn't an activated tower anywhere," Jeremy said looking at the computer screen.

Suddenly, from the center of the vibrations, the mystery girl jumped up through the ground followed by a (for lack of a better word) huge energy blast that wiped out all but six of the blocks.

"You can handle those, right, because I've got school and I'm gonna be late," she says as a black board appears in front of her.

"She's not the only one with class, hurry up with those blocks, and forget about going to Sector 5. Man, Mrs. Hertz is going to kill us."

--Your P.O.V.--

"Why did those guys look so familiar?" I asked myself as I appeared back on Earth in a flash of blinding white light.

--Gang's P.O.V.--

(Back on Earth)

"She looked familiar, didn't she?" Aelita said.

"Maybe you've seen her on Lyoko before," Yumi said.

"No, I think I would have remembered her," Aelita told them.

"Well, not much we can do about it now," Ulrich said.

The gang finally arrived at the school and they all went running into the school, not knowing that their life just got a whole lot more complicated.

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	2. Do I Know You?

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--Gang's P.O.V.--

Just as the bell rang, Jeremy, Ulrich, Aelita, and Odd slipped into class and took their seats in the back.

"That was a close one," Ulrich whispered to the others.

"Good morning class," Mrs. Hertz started. "Today, we will be learning about--" before she could finish, the door flew wide open, and a girl came running through it out of breath.

She was beautiful. She had long, jet black hair that reached her mid-back. Her eyes wear a stunning crystal blue. Her face was flawless, even without the help of make-up. She wore a red short-sleeved top and dark, navy blue jeans, with a white studded belt. She wore white sneakers that looked worn down from use. She also had a strange blue wristband on her left wrist. She had a toned body, with curves in all the right places. The girl had just moved to town and had enrolled at Kadic Academy earlier that week.

"Am... I...late...?" she asked.

"Yes, you are, but since you are new, I'll let it slide this one time," Mrs. Hertz told her.

"Thank you, Ma'am."

"Now, for some reason, your desk needed to be repaired, so for now, why don't you have a seat next to Mr. Della-Robbia?" the teacher said to the girl, pointing to Odd.

As the girl walked over to her seat, she looked at Odd. "Do I know you?" she asked. "You seem really familiar, but not from school. I can't place it, though."

Odd would have normally used a one-liner on a girl as beautiful as her, but for some reason, he thought she was familiar too. "I don't think we've met, but you seem familiar, too. Hey, Jeremy, do you recognize her?" Odd turned to Jeremy.

"No, I've never seen her before," he whispered back.

--Your P.O.V.--

The second I heard the voice of the kid with glasses, I knew who they were. "You were the guys who were on Lyoko! I knew you guys looked familiar! But wait, where's that other girl that was with you?" They all looked at me with faces that showed both horror and surprise, but the pink-haired girl was the one who figured it out first.

"So you were the girl who helped us out with those Blocks this morning," as she said it, the three boys seemed to relax a bit. "Hi, my name is Aelita. You're sitting next to Odd. Ulrich is the brown-haired one, and next to me is Jeremy."

"Cool, my name is Nara. I moved here last week," I answered them. "What about that other girl?"

"Is there a problem, Miss Sorori?" Mrs. Hertz had finally caught us talking.

"Ah…no Ma'am, no problem at all," I blushed.

"Good, and if I catch you talking during my lesson again, you'll have a detention."

"Yes Ma'am," I sunk back into my seat, a hint of red still in my cheeks. _One minute she's nice, and the next, she's biting my head off._

"The girl you were asking about earlier, her name is Yumi," Odd whispered to me once the teacher had returned to the lesson.

"After class, do you want to meet us at lunch?" Ulrich asked.

"Sure. Will, um, Yumi be there?" I asked, anxious to meet the last of the group.

"Yeah, and class is almost over, so we'll head to lunch, then give you a tour of the school," Aelita suggested.

"Sure," I answered. _Wow, these guys seem to be the first friends I've had in a long time. Since they seem to have been to Lyoko a lot, maybe they can help me find..._ my thoughts trailed off when I heard the sound of the bell. "Hey guys?" I turned to them smiling. "Does anyone know what the lesson was about?"

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(F.F. to lunch, you, Aelita, Jeremy, Odd, and Ulrich are already there, waiting for Yumi)

"You're going to love it here, Nara" Odd said to me, "but there are some things you won't like about it."

"Yeah? Like what?" I asked.

"Well, you won't like the teachers, and they don't allow dogs, so I have to keep Kiwi hidden all of the time," Odd answered. "And, the person that will always get on your nerves is Sis--"

He stopped just as a girl with black hair, followed by two nerdy-looking boys, came up to the table, "Well, what do we have here? Oh, you're the new girl aren't you?" she said, looking at me, I nodded.

"Hi Sissy, we were just about to talk about you," Odd said, stealing a glance at me. I giggled, trying to be unnoticed, but I was heard.

"You think that's funny, new girl?" she glared at me.

"No," I said, trying to think of something to say. "The only thing funny around here is what you're wearing." As soon as I said it, everyone at the table burst out laughing. Sissy stormed off, and the two boys quickly followed.

"Wow, Nara, that was a good one," Odd said to me.

"I wasn't trying to be funny. Girls like that tick me off, and besides, I was telling the truth. Her outfit was horrible. I mean, who does the skirt over the pants look anyway?" I said, trying as hard as I could to sound serious. Everyone started laughing again as a familiar girl ran over to our table.

"Hey Yumi," Ulrich said to the girl as she sat down.

"Hey. What's everyone laughing about?" she asked panting.

"Nara was just giving Sissy some fashion advice," Aelita told her, with a smirk on her face. "Nara is the girl who helped us on Lyoko," she added, seeing the confusion on Yumi's face

"Well, we have some problems that she might need to help us with again. X.A.N.A.'s attacking," she said so only we could hear her. "I saw it on the computer screen in Jeremy's room when I was looking for you guys."

"Then what are we waiting for?" I asked, standing up. "Let's go! But, wait a second, how do you guys get to Lyoko?"

"We shouldn't talk about this here, we'll head to the factory and fill you in," Jeremy said, also standing.

I followed them outside and they brought me to a clearing in the woods. Odd went over to a man hole and lifted the cover off. "Don't tell me we're going down in the sewers," I said with a look of disgust on my face.

"Okay then, we won't tell you," Ulrich smiled at me.

They all climbed down the ladder, and I reluctantly followed. When I got to the bottom, I saw them all getting on either a scooter or a skateboard. Odd looked over at me and said, "You can come on my board if you want."

"No, that's okay," I answered, leaning over to touch the sides of my sneakers. As I did, wheels popped out from the bottom of their soles, turning them to roller blades. "I have my own way of getting around. I'll just follow you guys."

"Okay, whatever you want," Odd smiled at me.

I followed them until they reached another ladder and got off their rides. I touched my shoes again and they turned back into sneakers. I climbed up into the street and saw a bridge leading to an old warehouse. I couldn't understand why they were heading to a beat up old factory, but I went with them anyway. The closer we got, the more familiar the place seemed. When we got to the entrance, below us I could see a vast room that had some empty cardboard boxes around the perimeter, and an old elevator sort of thing in the center. I still couldn't figure out why we were here, "Um, guys, why are we here?"

"To stop X.A.N.A., why else?" Yumi told me.

"I dunno, this doesn't seem like the place where you would go to a virtual world," I said, still scanning the area, trying to dig up memories that would help me remember this place.

"Well, it is," Aelita said to me, smiling slightly.

"But how do we get down there?"

"Like this," Ulrich said while grabbing hold of one of the wires hanging in front of us. Once he had a firm grip on the wire, he jumped of the edge and slid down the wire, landing gracefully on the ground. The others followed suit, and I hesitantly took a wire and jumped down.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," I said walking over to where the others were waiting for me.

"Come on, get in the elevator," Jeremy said to me.

"What?! Get in that old thing? You must be joking. It looks ancient."

"Don't worry, it's perfectly safe, we use it all the time," he told me reassuringly.

I stepped into the elevator, and Jeremy punched in a number on a code pad. When he finished, the elevator started to move down, and after a couple of moments, it stopped, and the door opened.

I was amazed at what I saw._ This is some serious deja vu... _(a/n: sorry, but I'm not going to bother with a description because I am horrible at them. Besides, most of you have probably seen the show and know what it looks like anyways, so I'm not going to even get into it) "You guys come here all of the time?" I asked.

"Yup," Jeremy said, getting into a large chair. "First, we need to know what X.A.N.A. is up to."

"No, first, you need to tell me how you guys get to Lyoko," I said, knowing it couldn't possibly be the same way I do.

"We'll show you, we have to go down there anyway," Aelita said heading back to the elevator.

_Great, we have to go in the stinkin' elevator again_, I thought. When we were in the elevator, we went down even farther. _How much farther does this thing go?_ When it stopped again, and I got out, I saw three cylindrical capsules with wires attached to it top and bottom. I got closer to the nearest one and started inspecting it closer.

"These are the scanners," Yumi said, stepping into one. "They get us to Lyoko."

"Why don't you head back up to where Jeremy is and he'll tell you more, since you can't get to Lyoko this way," Aelita said, while stepping into another.

"Why not?" I asked confused.

"Jeremy needs your genetic code for the scanner to work for you," Aelita answered before the doors to her scanner closed.

"I'm sending you guys to the Ice Region," I heard Jeremy's voice.

"Okay, I'll just get to Lyoko my own way," I said to myself, getting back into the elevator, supposedly heading back up to Jeremy's level.

_Oh my God...I knew I had been here before. We used to go to Lyoko this way, but I haven't needed to come here ever since I got this..._

I touched the side of my wristband and it glowed white. A second later, I disappeared from the elevator and appeared in the Ice Region of Lyoko. A moment later, Aelita and Yumi materialized in front of me, and were soon followed by Odd and Ulrich.

"How did you get here?" Yumi asked confused.

"I have my ways," I smirked.

"Okay guys, the tower is a couple of minutes away, direction, north northeast," I heard Jeremy's voice. "I'm uploading the overbike, overwing, and overboard." As he said it, a snowboard appeared hovering in front of Odd, a motorcycle appeared in front of Ulrich, and a platform thing appeared in front of Yumi. They each got on the same vehicle that was in front of them, and Aelita got on the thing that Yumi was on. Jeremy then came back on the air, "You'll have to get on with Odd or Ulrich, Nara."

"That's okay, I've got my own way of transportation, Jeremy," I waved my hand and a black board materialized in front of me.

"First the skates, and now this?" Ulrich said, amazed. "Who makes all of this stuff?"

"My--" I stopped myself. _I don't want to tell them about my past just yet_. "Um... I do."

"Wow, Nara. You might be smarter than Jeremy," Odd joked. I smiled, imagining the reaction Jeremy just had to Odd's remark.

"You should get moving guys, we don't know what X.A.N.A. is up to, and we don't want to give him time to carry out his plans," Jeremy said, desperately trying to change the subject.

I giggled, "Don't worry, Jeremy, you're much smarter than I will ever be. And besides, I don't know where we're going, I'm following them!"

"We're going, let's go," Yumi said, accelerating her vehicle. Odd and Ulrich went to catch up, and I did the same.

Once I caught up with them, Aelita asked me the question I had been dreading to hear since I met them, "So, Nara, how did you find out about Lyoko?"

I frantically started to search my head for stories. _I can't let them find out, not yet, um...um...um..._, "Um... I... uh..." luckily, I was saved from answering, "Odd! Look out!"

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"Odd! Look out!" I yelled as a Krab shot a laser at him.

He dodged just in time and was about to launch a counterattack, "Laser arrows!" he shouted as two darts came out of his wrists. One missed, but the other hit its mark, and the Krab shattered.

"Good shot, Odd!" I shouted to him as we continued along. Odd smiled and gave me a peace sign.

"Guys!" I heard Jeremy's voice again. "Get to the tower quickly! X.A.N.A.'s attack has finally started."

"What's going on, Jeremy?" Aelita asked.

"He's flooding the city, and that's not good for us," he told us.

"Why's that?" Ulrich asked.

"Because the factory is near the river, and our equipment is below ground, including me, so—"

"Since water flows down, it will pour into the factory, and eventually drown Jeremy," I finished for him.

"That's not all. The water on my level is already ankle-deep, so if one of you gets de-virtualized, you are going to have to swim your way up here."

"Don't worry, Jeremy, we'll hurry," Aelita assured him.

"Um, guys?" I asked uncertainly. "Is that the tower we're looking for?" I said, pointing at a red-glowing tower in the distance.

"Yeah, that's it, and it looks like X.A.N.A.'s sent us a welcoming committee," Yumi said.

I looked in the direction of her gaze, and I saw three Krabs and five Hornets in front of the tower, "I'll take the hornets and you guys take the Krabs."

Ulrich nodded, "Stay behind us, Princess," he said, looking at Aelita. She jumped off the overwing and went to stand behind a ridge. I saw Yumi pull out two fans, and Ulrich unsheathe a sword.

A Krab shot a laser, and it hit the overbike. It faltered for a second, then it de-virtualized. Ulrich fell to the ground as the Krab advanced on him. Ulrich quickly stood up, "Triplicate!" I heard him say, but I wasn't sure which one said it because there were now three Ulrichs.

_I guess that's why he shouted 'Triplicate',_ I thought.

"Nara! Watch out!" I heard Aelita scream. But it was too late; a laser from a Hornet had already hit me.

_Next time, fight first, and then watch others fight,_ I scolded myself.

I was knocked off my board, and with my loss of concentration, the board disappeared.

"Nara, be careful. You just lost 20 life-points," Jeremy yelled.

I concentrated and a small dark energy ball formed in my hand. I wound up, and threw it like a baseball pitcher throws a ball, and the Hornet was my catcher. Unfortunately for the Hornet, it didn't catch very well, and the Hornet shattered upon impact with my energy ball. After hitting the Hornet, the energy ball came soaring back to my hand.

I kept this up, throwing "pitch after pitch", until I destroyed the other four Hornets. As I got the final Hornet, I looked around to see how the others were doing.

Ulrich was just about to finish off his crab. I noticed that one of his clones had disappeared. As the second clone vanished, Ulrich jammed his sword into the Krab's back, and it shattered.

Odd was doing okay as well, that is, until he got hit with a couple lasers.

"Odd, don't get carried away. You only have ten life-points left," but Jeremy's warning came too late, and Odd disappeared. Ulrich went over to help Yumi, and I went to finish Odd's monster.

--Odd's P.O.V.--

The Krab hit me with a laser, and I was de-virtualized. When the scanner doors opened, I didn't have time to be tired, because water rushed into the scanner, and I just barely had time to get a breath. _Jeremy wasn't kidding when he said the water was filling fast_, I thought. I swam up through the top, where the ladder would lead, and I found Jeremy chest-deep in water.

"How…-cough-…are you…-cough-…holding up…-cough-…Jeremy?" I asked, still trying to get some breaths in.

"Not too good," he answered. "The water in here is filling up fast."

"Don't worry, they'll be done in no time…I hope."

--Your P.O.V.--

I was still fighting my Krab, and Ulrich and Yumi were fighting their Krab. _Jeremy and Odd must be running out of time. We have to get to the tower, and fast. _"Aelita! Get to the tower! We'll cover you!" I shouted to her.

She nodded and sprinted to the tower. My Krab spotted her and took aim, but I took the hit for her and I was de-virtualized.

--Aelita's P.O.V.--

When I reached the tower, I walked through its wall. Inside it, there was a platform with X.A.N.A.'s symbol in the center. As I stepped on each ring, it glowed. I got to the center, and slowly started to rise. Halfway up, I did a flip, and then I came up to a second, smaller platform. A floating screen was there, and as I placed my hand on it, my name appeared on the screen. As I lifted my hand away from it, my name was replaced with "Code: Lyoko", and my job was done.

"Tower deactivated," I said as the sides of the tower fell away.

"Return to the past, now," I heard Jeremy say.

--Your P.O.V.--

(Rewind to the beginning of that day, at class)

"So for now, why don't you have a seat next to Mr. Della-Robbia?" Mrs. Hertz told me, pointing to Odd.

I walked over to him, sat down, and smirked. "How's Mr. Catman?" I asked, referring to his clothes on Lyoko. He blushed a bit, and I giggled.

"So, you remember going to Lyoko with us?" he asked me. I nodded in response. "Good. Nara, you're officially part of our group."

I smiled. _So these guys really are my friends,_ "Glad to know it. How come the day's starting over?" I asked.

"After X.A.N.A. attacks, we have to launch a return to the past if something really bad happens. So, everyone who goes to Lyoko, and Jeremy, remember what happened, but no one else does," he explained to me.

"Oh, okay, I think I get it," I answered.

"Is there a problem, Miss Sorori?" Mrs. Hertz spotted us, as she had the last time.

"No, Ma'am. No problem at all."

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	3. Sector 5: Last Mission?

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(at school, at the vending machines)

Jeremy, Odd, Aelita, Ulrich, Yumi, and I were hanging out, trying to drag out the time between classes as much as we could. Jeremy was excitedly telling everyone else about finding an anti-virus, but I was only listening with one ear, not really paying attention. It wasn't until Jeremy said something about Lyoko that I included myself in the conversation.

"…and then we will be able to shut down X.A.N.A. once and for all," Jeremy had said.

My eyes widened in shock, "What? Why are you shutting down Lyoko?"

"Haven't you been listening?" Yumi asked. I shook my head.

"Once we have given Aelita her anti-virus, she'll be free from X.A.N.A. and we can shut him down. He won't cause us trouble anymore," Ulrich summed up for me.

"What will that do to Lyoko? Will we still be able to go?" I asked, worried.

Before they could answer, the bell rang for class. They all ran off, not wanting to be late for class, and since none of them had class with me this hour, I would just have to wait for my answer.

(F.F. to end of the school day, on the school grounds)

"We'd better get going," Aelita said to us.

"Wait. Where's Odd?" I asked. No sooner had I asked than the boy came sprinting out of the school.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to get out of a detention with Jim," he said once he had regained his breath.

"How did you manage that?" Yumi asked with a look of surprise on her face.

"I just didn't go," he said with a grin on his face. "I'll have to do a week's worth to make it up. This last trip to Lyoko had better be worth it. So are we going or not? I don't want Jim to spot me."

"Well, we were waiting for you," I said, a hint of annoyance seeping into my voice.

"But we'll leave now," Aelita quickly said.

We went the same way as before, and I was following them on my skates. We got to the warehouse, and I slid down the cable, much easier than the last time, and followed them into the elevator. At the first stop, Jeremy stepped out, "I'll send you guys to the Forest Region."

We continued down. When we got to the scanner room, everyone, except me, stepped out of the elevator.

"Aren't you coming?" Ulrich asked.

"I'll meet you there," I smirked.

The doors to the elevator closed, and once again, I touched my wristband. It glowed white in color, and as I had been before, I was transported to Lyoko. I knew that they would be heading to the transporter, so that was where I sent myself. I found a nearby tree and sat in it, knowing it would be a few minutes before the rest of them showed up.

I dosed off, and old memories crept into my dreams. First, I saw my old house. On it, there were still Christmas lights hanging from the roof. I turned to look down the street, and I couldn't believe my eyes.

I saw myself, but I was younger, seven years old to be exact. Walking down the snow-covered street was my seven year old self, and, I was more surprised to see, my older brother and twin sister walking along side her, or me rather.

No sooner had I realized it was them that I found myself in Lyoko, but not in the tree, I was in a sector that I recognized, but wasn't sure where from. I saw my brother and sister again, walking alongside a ten year old me.

Then everything went black. I saw my brother and sister drifting farther away from me, screaming, "Nara! Nara!"

I woke up suddenly to Odd's voice, "Nara! Wake up!"

"Sorry, I dosed off," I said, adjusting my eyes.

"Well, let's go," Yumi yelled from below me. That was when I realized I was still in the tree, and Odd was up there too. "The transporter should be here any moment."

"Hey, are you okay?" Odd asked in a concerned voice, seeing the sadness on my face.

"Yeah, I think so. Just a bad dream, reliving old memories," I answered.

"The transporter's here," Aelita called to us.

I jumped down from the tree, and stood on the edge of the Forest Region with the rest of them. A white sphere with X.A.N.A.'s mark appeared and took us away.

_Why does this seem so familiar?_ I asked myself. When we stepped out of the sphere, I immediately knew why. _I just saw this place in my dream! Maybe this is where--_

"Nara! You okay? You seem a bit pale," Odd said to me.

"Ye…yeah, I guess," I told him in a shaky voice.

"The corridor is about to open, guys," Ulrich called to us.

"I'm fine, Odd. Don't worry about me," I reassured him. He didn't seem convinced, but he let it go.

"Okay, guys," I heard Jeremy say after the corridor opened, "you have three minutes to find the key."

We ran to the end of the corridor at his last word. When we got there, there was a large blue room, with many different sized, blue towers populating it.

"X.A.N.A.'s going easy on us. All we have to do is climb the towers up to the key," Ulrich said, jumping onto a low, nearby tower.

"Don't be so sure," Aelita said, pointing to the tower Ulrich was currently standing on. Not only was Ulrich's tower moving up and down, they all were.

"This just got a whole lot more difficult," I said to them.

"Why's that? The towers are just moving now," Yumi said.

"Yeah, I know, but there are some Creepers over there, and they look ready to attack."

"Guys, you have two minutes left to get to the key," Jeremy's voice said.

"I'll get to the key, you guys watch my back," Odd called, already jumping from tower to tower.

The rest of us started running and jumping across the sea of towers to the best of our ability. Ulrich and Yumi were ahead of me, starting to fight the Creepers, and Aelita was running behind me.

I was hanging back, keeping an eye on Aelita, when out of nowhere I was hit with a laser. I was knocked away from Aelita, and towers immediately rose around her, trapping her.

"Aelita! Get out of there! The Skipozoa is there!" I heard Jeremy yell. I could tell from the tone of his voice that something was very wrong.

The towers surrounding her were too high for me to climb, so I shot an energy blast through one of them.

Before me there stood a large squid-like creature. I hesitated, but I wasn't quite sure why. I shook my head to rid myself of my doubts, and then I stepped forward.

The tentacles of the Skipozoa were wrapped around Aelita, streams of red pulsing out of her through the tentacles. I aimed an energy blast at the tentacles, and they were severed. I ran to catch Aelita as she fell, and the Skipozoa drifted away into the shadows.

At that moment, the towers around us started to fall, "Odd must have gotten to the key," Aelita pointed out as I set her down.

Once all of the towers sunk, and the floor was perfectly flat, we sprinted to the other side of the room where the others were waiting. We walked out of the room, and came to an opening. It was then that I heard a faint rumbling noise, which was steadily getting louder. _Whatever is causing that sound must be getting closer,_ I thought.

"When we say now, jump off the side of the ridge, okay?" Odd told me. I nodded in response.

"Ready," Ulrich said, as if anticipating the start of a race, "now!"

We all jumped as a white platform came and scooped us up. When it stopped, we ran to the end of the arm, and came out an opening that led to outside of the sector. Aelita ran up to a screen, and started downloading some files. I walked over to the edge and sat down, thinking.

Odd noticed, and he walked over and sat next to me, "Why don't you tell me what's bothering you."

"When we shut down X.A.N.A., Lyoko will be gone, won't it, and we won't be able to come back," I said with a sigh.

"Yeah, that's right," he confirmed for me.

"And anything on Lyoko at the time why be gone forever, right?"

"Right."

"Even if they belong on Earth?"

"Nara, what's this about?" Odd asked, looking at me.

"Odd, the thing is—"

But before I could answer him, I was hit in the back by a laser. I was knocked off balance, and I fell over the side of the ridge.

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	4. The End and Beginning

Recap:

"Nara, what's this about?" Odd asked, looking at me.

"Odd, the thing is—"

But before I could answer him, I was hit in the back by a laser. I was knocked off balance, and I fell over the side of the ridge.

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_This is not how I wanted to go out,_ I thought to myself as I fell over the edge. Just as I thought that I would never return to Earth, my right arm jerked, and I was no longer falling. I looked up, confused at first, and then I saw the face of my rescuer.

"Need a hand?" Odd asked smiling at me.

"I wouldn't say 'no'," I returned the smile. He pulled hard on my hand and lifted me back onto the ledge. Once I was safely returned to solid ground, I leaned over Odd and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Thanks," I said.

He just sat there, bright red showing on his face. I smiled and blushed too, "Maybe we should help the others, Odd," he still just stood there. "Um," I said starting to get uncomfortable. _Maybe he doesn't feel the same way_, I thought. "Sorry, I--"

Before I could finish, Odd quickly kissed me on the lips, "Don't be," he smiled. I did too.

_Scratch that last thought_, I smiled to myself.

"Come on," he said, "let's go kick some Flying Manta butt."

An energy ball appeared in my hand, "Ready when you are." As one of the Mantas came at me, I threw the energy ball as hard as I could towards it, "Think fast!" I cried. It hit the mark on the back of the manta and it shattered. I looked over my shoulder to see that Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi had destroyed the other mantas.

"Are you almost done, Aelita?" Ulrich asked.

"Yes. You can take over again, Jeremy," she said as the programs on the screen disappeared.

"Okay. Here are your vehicles," he said as each one appeared in front of its rider. With a thought, my board appeared in front of me. "The Northern Tunnel is open," he said.

Everyone hopped on their rides and we traveled out of the sector.

(F.F. Back on Earth)

I was already with Jeremy when the others stepped out of the elevator. Jeremy was muttering to himself while typing furiously at the keyboard. After a long while of fiddling with my hair, he finally seemed finished.

"One more code and…THAT'S IT! I've finally found the anti-virus!" he shouted. _Oww…ears_, I whined to myself, seeing as I was standing only a foot away from him.

"That's great, Jeremy!" Aelita said, running over to him and hugging him.

"Aelita, get to the scanner room, and we'll get the anti-virus into you," he said to her, a large smile still beaming on his face.

(F.F. few minutes later)

"I'm ready, Jeremy," Aelita said from the scanner room.

"Okay. You can step into the scanner now, Aelita," Jeremy told her.

Once Aelita was in the scanner, Jeremy started typing at the keyboard again. Before hitting the key that would start the process, he hesitated for a short moment, but then he jammed his index finger into it as hard as he could.

We all waited in silence as we waited for the process to be completed. _The suspense is killing me_, I thought sarcastically to myself.

"Okay, it's done. Aelita, can you hear me?" Jeremy asked.

"Loud and clear," she answered. I smiled, knowing that this must be great for them to hear, but in the back of my mind, something made me think this wasn't for the best.

We all climbed into the elevator and headed down to the level where the supercomputer was, picking up Aelita on the way.

When we stepped into the room, I couldn't suppress the shiver that went up my spine, luckily no one noticed. The supercomputer slowly began to rise from the floor, and this time my shiver didn't go unnoticed. Odd protectively put his arm around my shoulders, and I was suddenly very glad that I had such a good friend.

Once the supercomputer had completely risen from the floor, Jeremy started to walk over to it. "X.A.N.A., you gave us a lot of grief, but thanks to you, we met Aelita and Nara. From now on, you won't be bothering us, or anyone else, ever again. Goodbye, X.A.N.A.," Jeremy's hand went to touch the handle, and then he grasped it.

His last words rang through my mind, as if they were trying to give me one last warning. _Goodbye, X.A.N.A.…goodbye, X.A.N.A.…goodbye, X.A.N.A.…_

He was about to pull it down when it finally occurred to me what was happening.

"Stop!" I yelled.

I ran over to Jeremy and pulled his hand away, "You can't do this! We can't destroy Lyoko! Not now! Not yet!" I half sobbed.

"What's wrong, Nara?" Jeremy asked, bewildered. "Don't you want to get rid of X.A.N.A.?"

"Yes, I do, but…" my voice trailed off. _I might as well tell them_, I sighed to myself.

Odd came over to me and pulled me into a hug, "What's wrong, Nara? You can tell us." I pulled away from him.

"Odd, I tried to tell you this earlier, but this is as good a time as ever. This is how it happened…

_---Flashback, 4 years ago---_

_"Hey, Nara!"_

_"Hi, Sam," I smiled at my twin._

_"Let's go find Tim so we can go to Lyoko," she said pulling on my arm._

_"Okay, okay. I think he's already at the factory. He said he was working on a new project," I said._

_"Speaking of his projects, look what I found addressed to us in our room from a certain inventor we both know," she took out two pairs of sneakers._

_"They're just sneakers," I pointed out, confused._

_"They are now, but look," she put on one pair and touched the sides of them. Suddenly, wheels popped out of the soles of them._

_"That's awesome! Tim makes the best stuff," I said, taking my pair from her and putting them on. "Let's go."_

_(F.F. at factory, 1st floor down [where Jeremy is usually)_

_"Okay, I only have one wristband finished right now, so who wants it?" Tim asked, holding his newly made blue and white wristband in his hand. Sam and I both raised our hands at the same time._

_"Rock, paper, scissors, sudden death," Sam proposed, turning to me._

_"Fine," I answered._

_"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"_

_I had paper and she had rock._

_"Ha! I win!" I said taking the wristband from Tim. "So, what does it do?"_

_"Just touch it with your hand, think where in Lyoko you want to go, and you'll be transported there," he answered. "Also, I discovered a new sector. On the display, it kinda looks like a sphere."_

_"Okay, so how do we get there?" Sam asked._

_"I found a code for a transporter that we can get on from the Forest Region," he said heading to the elevator. "Nara, why don't you try out the wristband? Wait for us at the end of the sector."_

_"Okay," I answered as the elevator doors closed._

_I touched the wristband and closed my eyes. _I want to go to the end of the Forest Region,_ I thought. When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in the factory, but I was in the Forest Region of Lyoko. Not only that, but I was at the end of the sector, a few steps away from the digital sea._

_"Wow, that's accurate," I said aloud to myself. A few minutes passed, and then I saw Tim and Samantha approaching me._

_"So, did it work?" Tim asked once he was close enough to yell._

_"Yeah, I didn't have to walk one step," I answered._

_"The transporter should be here about…" he paused shortly, and in that pause, a white orb with X.A.N.A.'s mark on it appeared, "now."_

_We stepped into it, and in no time we were in the new sector._

_"Is it just me, or is everything spinning?" Sam asked as she looked around._

_"Everything is spinning," I stated plainly. Soon, the spinning stopped, and the wall gradually opened until it formed a passage._

_We ran to the end of the passage to find a vast, open room. Once we were all inside, walls slowly started to form around us. All too soon, they were too high to climb._

_"It's a maze," Tim noted._

_"Well, let's solve it," Sam yelled while running ahead. Tim ran to catch up with her, and I slowly brought up the rear. When I turned the corner, I saw Tim and Sam standing halfway up the corridor, and two figures coming up behind them._

_"Tim! Sam! Behind you!" I screamed, but it was too late. Two squid-like creatures each grabbed my brother and sister. I noticed a third coming from behind me, but I severed its tentacles with a few energy blasts. _

_I started to run towards Tim and Sam, but suddenly, the existing walls shrank into the floor, and new walls began to rise. One of the walls came up between my siblings and me. I frantically tried to search for another way to get to them, but before I could go too far, I was hit by a couple of lasers and was de-virtualized._

_Once I was back on Earth, I rushed to the computer screen. I saw that Tim and Samantha still had their life-points, but I couldn't locate them. They weren't in the new sector; they weren't in any of the sectors in Lyoko for that matter._

_I returned to the sector many times, but each time I returned as a failure._

_"Where are you bro? Where are you sis?" I cried._

_---End Flashback---_

"I guess it just took me a while to realize that shutting down X.A.N.A. would mean losing them forever," I leaned against Odd's chest for support and he put his arms around me.

"Wow, Nara, we didn't know," Yumi said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"I didn't expect you to," I replied weakly. "This is the first time I've told anyone about my past."

"Well, you can count on us," Ulrich said, coming to join what had turned into a hug fest.

"Count on you for what?" I asked puzzled.

"We're going to help you," Jeremy said while joining us.

"With?" I wanted them to continue.

"Finding your brother and sister," Aelita clarified for me.

"You don't have to get into this," I told them.

"Yes, we do. You're our friend, Nara. What are friends for?" Odd asked with a smile.

I returned his smile, "This."

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	5. Heartbreak, an Evil Trick

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After the last class of the day, I headed outside to the vending machines where the gang was waiting for me. I walked over to them, noticing they were deep in conversation. Aelita saw me first; I smiled at her.

"Hey, Nara. We were just talking about the dance tomorrow," she smiled.

My smile, however, quickly faded. "What dance? Why doesn't anyone tell me these things?!"

"It's been on the bulletin board for the past two weeks," Jeremy pointed out.

"So. I never look at the bulletin board," I told him, making it sound like it was a fact that should be put in a textbook.

"Well, I have to get home, guys. See you tomorrow," Yumi stated, walking away.

"Well this is great. It's way too close to the dance for me to get a date in time," I complained. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ulrich elbow Odd slightly, as if in encouragement.

"Well, um, Nara, if you want, I mean, if you aren't busy, but if you don't want to, I wouldn't mind, but—" Odd stuttered.

"Come on, Odd, spit it out!" Ulrich yelled at him.

"Doyawannagotodadancewitme?" Odd asked so fast that the words merged together. Aelita, Jeremy, and Ulrich laughed slightly.

"Say again?" I asked.

Odd took a deep breath, "Do you want to go to the dance with me?" he asked extra slowly.

I smiled and blushed so my face was every shade of red, "I would love to go with you, Odd."

Aelita tugged on my arm and started pulling me away from the group, "Sorry, boys, but we have to pick out our outfits." We walked up to the girls' dorms and went into my room.

"So, Aelita, are you going to the dance?" I asked as she started to go through my closet.

"Yes," she answered, holding a white dress in her hand. "This is good," she said.

"Not my favorite," I told her. She put it back in the closet and went looking for another. "So, are you going with Jeremy?"

Although her face was hidden from me, I knew she was blushing. "Yes," she answered. She pulled a blue dress out of the closet, inspecting it a bit closer. "How about this one?" she asked, handing it to me.

I held it against my body; it ended just above my knees. "This one's good," I told her. I laid the dress on my bed and we headed for Aelita's room. When we got there, it was my turn to look through her stuff.

"So," I said, starting to look through her closet, "are Yumi and Ulrich going together?"

"Yeah," she answered plainly.

"I bet that is going to make Sissy mad," I stated. We both burst out laughing at this. I pulled a two piece outfit with a belt out of her closet, "How's this?" I asked.

"That's good," she replied.

"We are going to look so good at the dance," I said. She smiled and nodded.

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"I can't believe we got the Subsonics to play!" I heard Sissy shriek as we entered the gym.

"Sissy may be a pain, but it's still cool that she got them to play at a regular school dance," I said. Odd nodded in response.

"She does have her moments," he smiled.

"Let's go find the others," I suggested.

"Okay," he responded. We went off into the heart of the dance floor in search of the rest of the gang. We spotted them waiting for us by the stage.

"Hey, guys!" I shouted over the sound of the band. After a few minutes of talking, we decided that we would hit the dance floor.

"I'm gonna get a drink before we start," Odd said. "Do you want one?" he asked.

"No thanks, I'm good," I replied. "I'll wait here."

"Okay," he answered. I watched him disappear into the crowd. I leaned against the stage and bobbed my head up and down to the beat of the song. A few minutes passed and I started to wonder where he was. _It doesn't take this long to get a drink,_ I thought. I started to scan the crowd in search of Odd. After a minute or so, I noticed the familiar blond hair in the crowd. But he wasn't trying to get back to the stage, he was dancing, and what's worse, he was dancing with another girl. _Okay, calm yourself, Nara. I'm sure there is an explanation for this,_ I thought frantically.

I started to weave my way through the crowd, trying to keep the negative thoughts out of my head. I finally reached him and I put a hand on his shoulder, "What are you doing? I've been waiting for you." I said.

He smirked, "Well, keep waiting, I'm busy right now."

I couldn't believe my ears. "Well, um, do you want to dance?" I stammered.

"Why would I want to dance with you?" he asked coldly.

Tears started forming in my eyes, "Because I'm your date."

"Well not anymore," he smiled cruelly. "Consider yourself dumped, Nara."

My tears were about to fall, but I held them back. "If that's how you really feel, then fine! Be like that! I never want to see your face again!" I shouted. I ran at top speed out of the gym and went outside. Once outside, I walked over to a nearby bench and cried my eyes out. When it seemed like I could cry no more, I started singing.

----(imagine a sad song you like)----

I finished the song, and a single tear slipped down my cheek. I heard footsteps coming toward me and I looked up. I saw Ulrich walking towards me. I looked down again, knowing why he had come outside.

"You're a wonderful singer," Ulrich said to me.

"So I've been told. I don't do it often though," I answered.

"Are you okay, Nara?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm just fine," I replied sarcastically. "I'm completely okay with the fact that my date broke up with me and laughed about it."

Ulrich came up to me and sat down next to me on the bench. "I know Odd, he would never do this to you."

"Do you want me to get you an instant replay camera? He said it right to my face, and I doubt I misunderstood his words," I told him.

"I'll talk to him, maybe we can work this out," he said. "I'll get the guys and we'll work this out."

I just sat there, not making a sound. Ulrich stood up and started to walk into the school. Once he was out of sight, I touched my wristband and it glowed white. I closed my eyes and was transported to Lyoko.

--with the gang--

"Odd's not being himself, he would never hurt Nara like that," Ulrich explained to the gang.

"Do you think it's X.A.N.A.?" Yumi asked.

"I don't know, it could be," Ulrich replied.

"I'll check the super-scan," Jeremy said, heading to his dorm room.

"Well, where's Nara now?" Aelita asked as they stepped outside.

"I left her on that bench…over…there," Ulrich said as he stared at the bench. No one was sitting there. "This isn't good."

Jeremy came running towards them, laptop in hand. "X.A.N.A.'s activated a tower," he said once he reached the group.

"And Nara's disappeared," Yumi said.

"Let's get to the factory," Jeremy suggested.

"What about Odd?" Aelita asked.

"Something's wrong right now, and he's the cause for all we know. It's best to leave him out of this one," Ulrich explained.

"All right, let's go," Yumi said.

--with you--

I opened my eyes and found myself in the Polar Region of Lyoko. I ran across the ice plateau at top speed, running off all of my feelings and worries. I stopped when I was out of breath. I looked around me, and straight ahead I saw a cliff that led into the digital sea.

I started walking towards it, not really thinking of what I was doing. I reached the edge and started thinking of what had just happened to me, how my heart had been broken and then ripped from me. I never thought it would hurt this bad to have your heart broken, but this experience proved me wrong. I took another step towards the edge.

_What can I go back to now?_…another step closer…_How can I face him again?_…another step closer…_Is there really anything left for me?_…I took one last step towards the edge…_First I lose my family, and now I've lost my best friend…I even thought he was more than that…but now…_ I could see over it now, I could see the digital sea flowing beneath me.

_This is it,_ I thought as I peered over the edge. I took a deep breath, and leaned forward over the edge, letting gravity do its work by pulling me down. But I wasn't falling…I was suspended over the edge, someone holding my arm so I didn't fall any farther. I was pulled back onto the icy plain, and I just sat there, letting more tears fall down my cheeks.

"What were you thinking, Nara?" Ulrich asked angrily once he had let go of my arm.

"I don't know," I sobbed. "I just didn't want to go back."

"You should know, Odd was being controlled by X.A.N.A.," Yumi told me.

"What?" I asked as my face lit up with a glimmer of hope. _So there was an explanation for his actions,_ I thought happily to myself.

"That's why we came here. We got worried that you weren't on the bench so we came to Lyoko, not only to deactivate the tower, but to find you," Aelita explained.

"Then where is Odd now?" I asked.

"I think I can answer that," I heard Jeremy's voice respond.

"What do you mean?" Ulrich asked.

"I mean that he is here at the factory," Jeremy replied. "I've locked him out for now, but that won't hold him for long."

"Well we'd better hurry," I said. "Which region is the tower in?"

"This one," Aelita replied. We all got on our vehicles, Aelita got on Odd's, and we sped off towards the tower.

"There's the tower!" I called out.

"And no monsters," Yumi pointed out.

"X.A.N.A. probably used a lot of energy possessing Odd, so he can't make any monsters," Aelita concluded. We reached the tower and Aelita jumped off of the overboard. She walked into the tower and after a minute or so, I heard Jeremy's voice.

"Return to the past now…"

(Rewind to the beginning of the dance)

"I can't believe we got the Subsonics to play!" I heard Sissy shriek for the second time. I looked to my side, knowing that Odd was going to be there.

"I did something bad, didn't I," he sighed.

"It wasn't really you, that's all that matters," I reassured him.

He smiled at me, "I'm glad you're my date, Nara."

"So am I," I answered. "So, what happened anyway? I mean, you went to get a drink, and then everything went haywire."

"Well, to tell you the truth, the last thing I remember is standing by the drink table, and then I noticed a spark by an outlet. Then it goes black from there," he told me.

I nodded. I saw the others by the stage again, but we didn't go to see them. Instead, Odd grabbed my hand and pulled me into the center of the dance floor. Everyone stopped dancing to watch us, annoying Sissy immensely.

Once the last song of the dance ended, we noticed the principal taking the microphone from the stand.

"I hope he doesn't start singing," I said in Odd's ear. He almost laughed, but he held it back because the principal was about to say something.

"The votes have been counted, and the King and Queen of tonight's dance are…" he paused as he opened an envelope. We saw Sissy already heading towards the stage. "…Odd Della-Robbia and Nara Sorori!"

"What?!" Sissy shrieked. Both Odd and I burst out laughing. Once we had stopped, we stepped onto the stage where we were both given crowns.

"Thanks for taking me, Odd," I smiled at Odd.

"Thanks for coming," he answered.

We both leaned closer to each other until our lips met. The entire gym erupted into applause, but I didn't hear any of it. I was too caught up in the kiss, and I wished it could go on forever. But then reality set in and we pulled away from each other. The crowd kept cheering for us, and I saw the faces of the gang in front. We stepped off of the stage and joined them.

I laughed a bit, "And here I thought that I wouldn't get a date in time." Everyone laughed at this as we all filed out of the gym.

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	6. Aelita's New Ride

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

"Tower, deactivated," Aelita said as the tower collapsed around her.

"Return to the past, now," Jeremy's voice said distantly.

(Rewind to beginning of day - breakfast)

"Scrambled eggs, my favorite!" Odd shouted.

"I thought meatballs and gravy were your favorite," Ulrich stated, looking up from his plate.

"They are. Can't a guy have more than one favorite?" Odd asked, stuffing more eggs in his mouth.

"Yeah, they can, but everything can't be your favorite," Aelita mused.

"It just isn't normal," Jeremy added.

"Well, that's why his name is Odd," I smiled.

Odd looked at me with a look of fake hurt, "Hey, whose side are you on?"

"Yours, of course," I replied. "But you can't argue with fact."

Odd sighed, "I guess you're right."

Everyone started laughing, until Sissy came up to the table, followed closely by Herve and Nicholas.

"What are you losers laughing about?" Sissy sneered at us.

"That zit on your face. Are you growing another head?" Odd joked.

"Maybe she's hoping this one will have a brain," I added quickly. Everyone laughed as Sissy ran away screaming, while she pulled out a small mirror.

"You two make quite a team," Jeremy said.

"And yet another reason why we're perfect for each other," Odd said, putting his arm around my waist.

"C'mon, guys," Ulrich said, picking up his tray. "We better head out, or we'll be late for class."

(F.F. to class)

"Mr. Della-Robbia. Ms. Sorori. You two seem to think that you know so much already that you don't have to pay attention during class. So, one of you wouldn't mind telling me what the definition of equilibrium is," the teacher said.

Odd and I had been in the middle of a very intense game of paper football. Odd, who had been just about to go for the winning field goal, was caught by surprise and the paper football went a good foot off target.

_Damn. I don't have a clue about equilibrium,_ I thought. _And there's a fat chance that Odd will know--_

"Oh, that's an easy one, ma'am," Odd started brightly.

_No way! He actually knows?!_ I screamed in my mind.

"You see, when you have two libriums that are equal, it's called equilibrium," Odd smiled.

I sighed, _If it was that easy, I would have learned it by now._ But then I thought about what he had said. _Wait a second; I think that was pretty close. If I'm remembering correctly, equilibrium means balance. And equal and balance are pretty close._ I raised my hand.

"Yes, Ms. Sorori," the teacher acknowledged me.

"Well, if you don't mind me saying, ma'am, I think Odd's answer was pretty close," I started. "I mean, equilibrium means balance doesn't it? So two things being equal is like saying two things are balanced, right?"

"Well, Ms. Sorori, you are right, equilibrium does mean balance, and I suppose Mr. Della-Robbia's answer was similar. Congratulations, Mr. Della-Robbia," the teacher suddenly said. "I believe this is your first correct answer in my class." The entire class started laughing as the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

I walked up to Odd as we started heading out of class, "Not only did I bail you out, but I also won the game. The paper football missed by a mile," I smiled.

"I wonder who the substitute is," Jeremy said suddenly.

"What substitute?" I asked.

"Weren't you listening?" Aelita asked. I shook my head.

"We're going to have a sub this afternoon," Ulrich said.

"Well, that will be fun," Odd smiled. "We can get away with anything with a sub."

"When's there going to be a sub?" Yumi asked, walking up to us.

"We have a sub this afternoon, apparently," I replied.

"Does anyone know what's for lunch today?" Odd asked suddenly.

"What is it with you and food?" Jeremy asked.

"I like it. A lot," Odd answered simply.

"Mac and cheese, I think," Aelita said,

"Yeah, my favorite!" Odd shouted happily.

"I'm not even gonna get started with that again," I stated as we walked into the cafeteria.

--Odd's P.O.V--

"I'm done, so I think I head up to the dorms before our next class," Aelita said picking up her tray.

"I'll come with, I'm done too," Nara said, picking up her tray also.

"Count me in," Yumi said, joining them.

"So," I started, "who do you think the sub is?"

"I hope it's Mr. Kente," Ulrich said.

"Yeah, being in his class is like one big party," I agreed.

"Just as long as it's not Ms. Molan," Jeremy said. Ulrich and I both shuddered.

"Or Ms. Fletcher," I added. Jeremy and Ulrich nodded in agreement. "The way she talks is like a hiss of a snake."

_Sssssss._

"Nice impression, Odd" Ulrich said.

"That wasn't me," I said. "Nice one, Jeremy."

"Wasn't me either," Jeremy said. "So who…"

Jeremy trailed off, and I didn't blame him, seeing as there was a cobra in front of him. Thinking fast I picked up my tray and swung at the cobra. The cobra went flying into an aisle between two tables. One of the girls at another table saw it and screamed.

"What is all of this yelling about?" Jim asked, coming over to see what was going on. "Ahh! Okay, everyone, don't panic."

Suddenly, another snake fell from the vent, and another from the lights, both of these much bigger than the small cobra.

"Okay, now you can panic a little," Jim said shakily.

--Your P.O.V.--

"So did you and Samantha ever switch places?" Aelita asked.

We were talking about how Sam and I looked exactly alike; even to our family it was hard to tell us apart. "Yeah, loads of times. But then one time, we got in a lot of trouble for it, so we stopped."

"What did you guys do?" Yumi asked.

"Well, we--" I stopped when I heard a cell phone ring.

"I think it's yours," Aelita said.

"Yeah," I said, pulling out my phone. "Hello?

"…"

"Oh, hi Odd."

"…"

"What's wrong?"

"…"

"SAY WHAT?"

"…"

"You're joking right."

"…"

"Oh, I'd hate to be in your position right now, I hate snakes."

"…"

"Really?"

"…"

"Not a bad theory."

"…"

"Okay, we'll check it out."

"…"

"No worries, we'll hurry," I hung up the phone. I turned to look at Aelita and Yumi, who both looked very confused. "Let's walk and talk, girls. Or maybe run and talk," I said as an after thought.

"Where are we going?" Yumi asked as we ran out of the dorms.

"To the factory," I replied shortly.

"Shouldn't we get Odd, Ulrich, and Jeremy?" Aelita asked.

"They can't come," I replied with another short answer.

"Why?" Yumi and Aelita asked together.

"Because they are battling with poisonous snakes," I told them.

"No, really, why can't they come?" Yumi asked.

"I was serious," I said. "According to Odd, Jeremy thinks it's a X.A.N.A. attack, so that's why we're going to the factory. So we can call off these snakes."

(F.F to factory)

"How are we supposed to get to Lyoko without Jeremy?" Aelita asked.

"Here," I said, taking off my wristband and giving it to Aelita.

She took it and looked at it strangely, "What do I do with this?"

"There should be just enough room for both your wrist and Yumi's," I said, sitting down at the computer.

"What?" Yumi asked, still confused.

"Just put both of your wrists in the wristband, and then I'll tell you," I answered, booting up the computer. I waited until they did so, "Okay, this is how I've been getting to Lyoko, through that wristband. All you have to do is think of where in Lyoko you want to go, and you'll be instantly transported there."

"Cool," they both said.

"Okay, since it's transporting two people, you'll only be able to choose which sector you go to, and once this computer is finished warming up, I'll tell you where the tower is.

"Okay," they replied.

"Alright, you're headed to the Polar Region." A second later, there was a flash of white light, and they were gone.

I put on the headset as the computer finished warming up. I pressed a few keys on the keyboard, "Can you guys hear me?"

"Loud and clear," Aelita replied.

"Okay, your heading east northeast," I told them. "It should be a few minutes ride on your vehicles." I pressed a few buttons, and the overwing and overboard materialized in front of them in Lyoko. "Have a nice ride," I said. I started exploring different files on the computer, while keeping an eye out for monsters.

Suddenly, Jeremy's phone number appeared on the screen, and then I heard his voice, "Are you guys almost done?" he shouted practically.

"Yeah, Yumi and Aelita are almost at the tower," I answered. "How are things on your end?"

"Not good," he replied in a tired voice. "There's about twenty of them now. We're doing okay so far, we're hiding in one of the classrooms, but it's only a matter of time before X.A.N.A. finds out how to get in."

"Who else is with you guys, besides Ulrich and Odd?" I asked.

"Uh…" Jeremy paused. I assumed that he was looking around the room. Meanwhile, I went back to searching files. I came upon something titled "Overglider-incomplete". Just as I was opening the file, Jeremy came back, "There's Sissy, Herb, Nicholas, Timea (sp?), Milley, Jim, and three others," he informed me.

"Hey, Jeremy," I started. "What's this file called 'Overglider-incomplete'?"

"Oh, that. I was working on a vehicle for Aelita, seeing as she's the only one who doesn't have one," he said. "It's almost done, actually."

"Can I finish it?" I asked.

"Uh, sure, I guess," he replied. "I have to go, I think the snakes are breaking through."

"Okay, good luck," I said.

"Thanks, we'll need it," he said before he hung up.

I looked back at the screen just in time to see a few monsters advancing on Yumi and Aelita, "Hey guys, you've got three Creepers at 1 o'clock."

I monitored the fight as best I could, and meanwhile, I started to work on the overglider. Suddenly, I noticed that the overboard had been dematerialized, "Aelita, I'm gonna give you the overbike so you can get to the tower while Yumi's fighting those Creepers."

"Okay," she replied. I typed a few commands, and the overbike materialized in front of her.

"Yumi, be careful, you just lost 50 life-points," I said, focusing back on the fight. She had managed to kill one of them, but suddenly, she got hit by another laser, and was dematerialized. The two remaining Creepers started to chase after Aelita.

After I alerted Aelita of this she said she had a plan, "When I tell you to, can you dematerialize the overbike?"

I was puzzled, "Um, sure. Can I ask why?"

"Trust me," was all she said.

"Okay," I said returning to the overglider. After about half a minute, I was finished. "I can give this to Aelita to try out after we get rid of the overbike."

"Okay, ready, Nara?" Aelita said suddenly.

"What? Oh, yeah, right. Just tell me when," I said, readying myself.

"Okay…now!" she said as I typed the command into the keyboard. "It worked!"

"Well, whatever you did, it worked. I'm going to send you the overglider, Aelita," I told her, typing in the commands. "Jeremy's been working on it for a while, but he said I could finish it for him. Here it is," I said, as the overglider appeared in front of Aelita (a/n: just picture a hang-glider digitized).

Aelita got on the overglider and headed to the tower. The phone on the computer screen rang again, so I answered, "Hello?"

"WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG?!" Jeremy yelled.

"WHY DON'T YOU TAKE IT DOWN A FEW DECIBLES?!" I screamed back.

"Sorry," he said, much quieter.

"No harm done, excluding my hearing that is," I replied sarcastically.

"We can't last much longer," Jeremy said.

"Aelita is almost at the tower," I reassured him. "Any second now," I switched back to the headset. "Aelita, hurry up. The guys can't last much longer."

"I'm entering the tower now," she replied.

"Don't worry, Jeremy. Aelita's entering the tower n—aahhhh!" I stopped mid-sentence when I saw a boa slithering towards me.

As it got closer and closer to me, I started to panic. _I HATE SNAKES!_ I screamed mentally. I tried without success to steady my breathing. _Okay Nara, stay calm. Maybe it won't notice you. Aw hell, who am I kidding? If X.A.N.A.'s possessing it, it won't act like a normal snake._ I started to shake uncontrollably. _Wait a second. Where's Yumi? She should have been back up here a while ago. Maybe she ran into a snake too. Or maybe this one already got her…_I shook my head hard and closed my eyes. _No, I can't think like that._ I felt the snake coil around me. _If I had to choose a way to die, I'm not sure I would pick being squeezed to death by a boa. But hey, it is unique. Why the hell am I thinking like this? And why am I talking to myself? _The boa's grip tightened as it continued to coil around my body. _I'm already going crazy with the thoughts of death. But I can't die! Not yet! I refuse to die until I've read the 7th _Harry Potter _book and watch movies five through seven. Come on, Universe, you've never failed me yet!_ And suddenly, the boa stopped moving as I heard Aelita's voice say, "Tower, deactivated."

And her voice was shortly followed by Jeremy's frantic voice, "Return to the past, now!"

(rewind back to lunch)

I looked around the lunch table and saw the gang staring back at me. I sighed in relief, "Yes! The Universe still cares about me!" I cried out. Everyone stared at me weirdly. "What?" I asked innocently. "I thought I was gonna die, so I asked the Universe to let me live long enough to read the 7th _Harry Potter_ book and watch the 5th, 6th, and 7th movies," I explained. There was a brief moment of silence, and then everyone started laughing.

"C'mon guys," Jeremy said. "It's time to find out who the sub is."

We all walked out of the cafeteria, and Yumi went down a different corridor while we headed to our classroom. We entered the classroom, and we saw the teacher, whose back was currently facing us. We went and sat down at our usual seats, waiting for the bell to ring. When it did, the noise died down, waiting for the teacher to start.

"Hello class. As is obvious, I am your substitute teacher this afternoon. I'm saying right now that it is not my job to be nice and polite to you, but to teach you, so don't expect to get away with anything while I'm here," he started, still having not turned toward the class.

_No, it can't be, _I thought. _It just can't be him._

"My name is Mr. Norton, and--"

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I screamed.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Alright, just a note, when I first wrote this, the OotP Harry Potter movie hadn't come out yet, so, that's why Nara hasn't seen it yet.


	7. Can't Choose Your Family

Recap:

"C'mon guys," Jeremy said. "It's time to find out who the sub is."

We all walked out of the cafeteria, and Yumi went down a different corridor while we headed to our classroom. We entered the classroom, and we saw the teacher, whose back was currently facing us. We went and sat down at our usual seats, waiting for the bell to ring. When it did, the noise died down, waiting for the teacher to start.

"Hello class. As is obvious, I am your substitute teacher this afternoon. I'm saying right now that it is not my job to be nice and polite to you, but to teach you, so don't expect to get away with anything while I'm here," he started, still having not turned toward the class.

_No, it can't be, _I thought. _It just can't be him._

"My name is Mr. Norton, and--"

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I screamed.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

"Excuse me, Miss…?" Mr. Norton started.

"Oh, you know very well what my name is, _Mr. Norton,_" I shot back, glaring daggers at him.

"I assure you, I have no clue what your name is," he said calmly, making my blood boil. "But if you keep this up, you'll be earning yourself a one-way trip to the principal's office."

"Fine," I challenged, crossing my arms. "I'd rather me anywhere else than with you."

"If that's how you feel, you can go and see Principal Delmas. Go on then. Oh, and before you go, I would like to know your name," he said to me.

"Fine, I'll leave. And just to satisfy you, my name's Nara Sorori," I spat as I headed to the door. I saw his eyes widen a little as I said my name. Odd looked at me with a confused face, but I shook my head at him and walked out of the class.

_I never thought I'd see him again. The nerve of him, to show his face near me. The nerve of_ me, _standing up to him like that, what was I thinking? Do I have a death wish or something?_ Before I knew it, I was outside of Mr. Delmas's office. I knocked on the door.

"Come in," called the principal's muffled voice. I opened the door hesitantly, and I saw Principal Delmas sitting at his desk. "Ah, Miss. Sorori," he acknowledged. "Sit down, sit down." I did as I was told without a sound. "Miss. Sorori, you are not the type of student who yells out of turn at a teacher," he stated. I just kept my head down. "I suppose the obvious question to ask is why you did it."

"I-I don't know, sir," I mumbled. "It just sorta happened." I knew it was a lame excuse, but it was all I could say.

"Miss. Sorori, this isn't normal behavior for you, so I'll let it slide this one time, but if it happens again, I'll have to give you a detention," Mr. Delmas said.

"Yes, sir. Thank you," I said, standing up.

"Now, why don't you head back to your dorm for the rest of class," Mr. Delmas offered.

"Thank you, sir. That would be great," I answered, relieved that I didn't have to go back to Mr. Norton's class.

When I got to my dorm room, I collapsed on my bed, a sudden wave of fatigue sweeping over me. I was instantly asleep, my mind free to dream about the nightmare that is my past…

_---Flashback---_

_"Good night, sweetie," a voice said in my ear._

_"Good night, mommy," my six year old self echoed. I closed my eyes, and I heard my mother say good night to Samantha. When my mother closed the door, Sam and I sat up in bed, and Sam came over to my bed._

_"How long do you think we can go before they know we're still awake?" Sam whispered._

_"Two minutes, maybe," I whispered back._

_"Two minutes? Last night we lasted five minutes," she said._

_"Yeah, but you're talking too loud," I said back. Suddenly, two gunshots could be heard from downstairs. Samantha and I stopped talking and froze._

_"What was that?" Sam whispered._

_"I don't know," I whispered back. We heard footsteps coming up the stairs. "Uh oh, mommy's coming," I whispered. "Get back in your bed, quick!"_

_"Okay," she answered as she scrambled over to her bed. The door to our bedroom opened just as I closed my eyes._

_"Mommy? What's going on? What was that noise?" I asked. I opened my eyes and looked in the doorway. It wasn't my mother; it was man who must have been in his mid-30's. He wasn't my father either, and I didn't recognize him at all. It was at that point that I noticed a glint from the object in his hand. I glanced at it, and that's when I got really scared._

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

--Odd's P.O.V.—

(after class)

"Where do you think Nara went?" I asked as we walked out of the classroom.

"Maybe we should try the principal's office first," Ulrich suggested.

"Good idea," Aelita said. We walked to Mr. Delmas's office, and I knocked on the door.

"Come in," Mr. Delmas's voice said.

"Uh, Mr. Delmas, do you know where Nara went after you talked to her?" I asked.

"I sent her back to her dorm," he replied. We started heading out when the principal continued. "Can you give her a message? Mr. Norton would like to talk with her when she gets the chance," he said.

"Okay, sir. Thanks!" I said as we filed out of his office. We headed up to the girls' dorms and went to Nara's room.

Jeremy stopped suddenly. "I forgot my laptop, I'll meet you guys back here," he said as he ran off.

Aelita knocked on the door, "Nara! Nara, it's Aelita. Can we come in?" Aelita asked. Suddenly, we heard a scream coming from her room.

"Nara!" I shouted as I opened the door to her room and ran in.

--Nara's P.O.V.--

_It was at that point that I noticed a glint from the object in his hand. I glanced at it, and that's when I got really scared._

_It was a gun. My mind suddenly went back to the two gunshots I had heard just a few minutes ago._

_Samantha and I started screaming as loud as we could. I backed up as far as I could on my bed until my back hit the wall. The man pointed the gun at me and somehow I screamed louder, "Mommy! Daddy! Tim! Help!"_

_"Shut up and be quiet," the man growled, "or I'll kill you now." I instantly shut my mouth. The man started to advance upon me, when suddenly he collapsed on the ground. I looked behind the man and saw Tim standing behind him with a baseball bat swung over his head._

_"Are you guys okay?" Tim asked us, dropping his bat and walking over to us._

_"Yeah, we are," Sam answered, crawling over to my bed. We heard sirens from outside. "Why are the police here?"_

_"I called 911 after I heard the gunshots," Tim answered._

_"I'm a little scared to go downstairs," Sam muttered._

_"So am—TIM! BEHIND YOU!" I yelled suddenly. For the man had woken up and had his gun pointed at Tim._

_"Hey, kid," the man growled. "That bat of yours hurt. It's time you felt some pain."_

_Samantha was past the point of screaming, and she just sat on my bed shaking. I couldn't blame her; I was almost like that as well. But I couldn't just sit there and watch this happen to my brother, I had to do something._

_I made sure I had a clear shot, and then I jumped onto the man's back, clinging my arms around his neck. Tim kicked the gun out of the man's hand after I had done this. The man grabbed one of my arms, and threw me off of him, sending me flying into the wall. Through the pain, I propped myself up against the wall breathing heavily. The man picked the gun off of the floor and aimed at me. I couldn't move, I was in too much pain; all I could do was sit there, my eyes barely open. The man's finger twitched over the trigger. My brother flung himself at the man, but it was too late._

_It was like slow motion, as the bullet left the barrel of the gun and sailed towards me. The bullet just skimmed the top of my shoulder, but it was still a deep wound._

_"Drop the weapon and put your hands up! Now!" a new voice said. I figured it was the police, so I gave a small sigh of relief. Another police officer handcuffed the man and led him out of the room. Tim slowly stood up off the ground, and brushed himself off._

_"Are you alright, kid?" the police officer asked him._

_"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, it's my sister I'm worried about," Tim said quickly, pointing at me. The police officer looked at me and got out his walkie-talkie._

_"Officer Reese here. We need a paramedic up here, now." He walked over to me and leaned down, "You're gonna be alright, sweetie. It's gonna be alright."_

_----End Flashback----_

I sat up in bed, cold sweat running down my neck, breathing heavily.

"Nara!" Odd cried as he opened the door to my room. He ran over to me, closely followed by Aelita, Yumi, and Ulrich, and hugged me tightly. "Are you alright? We heard a scream, and we got worried."

"I guess that was me who screamed," I answered, my hand drifting to the scar on my right shoulder.

"Bad dream?" Aelita asked sitting down on the bed as well.

"More like bad memory," I muttered, still clutching my shoulder.

"You wanna talk about it?" Yumi asked.

"Yeah," I said suddenly. "Actually, I do." And so I told them everything I had just witnessed in my dream. When I finished my story, I pulled back the neck of my shirt to reveal a 3-inch long scar running over my shoulder. "The doctor said if the bullet was any closer to my neck, it would've hit an artery. Tim really saved my life. You guys can tell Jeremy, I don't feel up to saying it again."

"What about that man?" Ulrich asked.

"Well, he should still be in jail, but—" I was cut off by Jeremy running into the room panting, laptop in hand.

"X.A.N.A.'s attacking," he managed. He ran out of the room with the rest of us close behind.

"Hey, Nara," Odd said as we were running. "You have a pretty horrible past."

"Yeah, don't remind me," I muttered.

"Well, I was just wondering, why aren't you like other people? I mean, I thought a lot of people with pasts like that ended up, well, kinda dark and they become outsiders. But you're not like that, Nara; you're nice, sweet, and not afraid to show your true colors. Don't get me wrong, I love you like this, but why are you so different?" Odd finished.

_Wow, who knew Odd could be so deep,_ I thought. "I dunno," I replied, thinking about his question. "I guess I just didn't want to let it ruin my life. Someone once told me 'you can't change the past, but you _can_ change the future, so don't mess it up.' I felt it was a good phrase to live by," I answered as we entered the clearing in the woods.

Aelita went down the ladder first, followed by Yumi and Jeremy. I started climbing down when suddenly, the ground started to shake. I lost my grip on the bars, but Ulrich and Odd grabbed my arms just in time.

"You okay, Nara?" Ulrich asked once the shaking had stopped.

"Yeah," I answered, getting my hands securely around the bars of the ladder. "Is everyone down there alright?" I called down.

"We're okay," Yumi called up. I climbed the rest of the way down, and Ulrich and Odd soon followed.

"Earthquakes aren't common here at all, especially one of that magnitude," Jeremy said.

"It must be X.A.N.A.," Aelita added.

"Yeah, I agree," Ulrich said. "We better hurry."

We reached the factory and we headed down the elevator, dropping Jeremy off on the first floor. Everyone else got out of the elevator when we reached the scanner room, but I stayed in the elevator.

"Which sector are we going to?" I asked before the doors closed.

"The Mountain Region," Jeremy's voice replied. I touched my wristband and I was transported to Lyoko. Aelita and Yumi appeared seconds later, followed by Odd and Ulrich. "Okay, guys, the tower is a few minutes away. Direction, south southwest."

"We're on it, Jeremy," I answered, materializing my board in front of me. Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita's vehicles materialized in front of them as well.

"Three Tarantulas at 12 o' clock, guys," Jeremy warned.

"We'll take care of these guys, and Nara and Aelita can get to the tower," Ulrich said as we reached the threesome.

"Sounds good," Aelita answered. I nodded my head, and we kept going to the tower. "There's the tower!" she shouted, pointing at the red tower in the distance.

"Yeah, and there are two Creepers guarding it," I answered. I formed a dark energy ball in my hand and shot at the Creeper. It missed by a mile, but it swung around and hit the Creeper from behind. "What goes around comes around," I said as the Creeper shattered.

"Energy Field!" Aelita shouted as she sent her own energy blast at the last Creeper. It hit its mark, and the Creeper shattered.

"Nice shot!" I called to her. "Now, get to the tower."

She nodded and walked over to the tower, and disappeared through it. A minute passed by, and finally I heard Jeremy's voice.

"Return to the past, now."

(rewind to Nara's room)

I found myself sitting on my bed, Odd next to me, the others also in the room. My hand was still clutching my scar, so I let my hand slide off my shoulder.

Odd stood up and gave me a long hug, "Are you gonna be alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I answered with a smile. "Don't worry about me, guys." Everyone one left the room, but I kept sitting on my bed. "I'll be fine," I muttered, more to convince myself than anything.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, "Nara? May I come in?" Mr. Norton's voice asked.

My temper flared up again, "Give me one good reason why I should."

"Because I am _not_ Jonathan Norton," he replied.

"Then who are you?" I asked.

"Chris Norton," he answered. "I'm John's brother. Twin, in fact, which is probably why you hate me."

My anger started to subside, but I didn't let my guard down, "How can I be sure?" Suddenly, something slid into my room from under the door. I got off my bed and walked over to the door. I picked up the object to find Mr. Norton's driver's license, on which had his name, 'Chris Norton'. I opened the door slowly and let him in. I handed him his license and went back to sit on my bed. "So, what do you want?" I mumbled.

"I wanted to say sorry," he started.

"Why? You didn't do anything," I said.

He sighed, "My brother never really fit in with the family, to say the least." My body stiffened at the mention of his brother as he continued. "We looked alike, be he wasn't like me at all. We never hung out together. I always joked with him, calling him crazy, but he really was. One day, he finally snapped, and he ran off. That was the last time I saw him, until the day when—"

"When he murdered my parents," I finished quietly.

"I'm sorry for what my brother did," he said.

"Like I said before, it wasn't your fault," I told him.

He laughed a bit, "I guess what they say is true, you can't choose your family, can you?"

I smiled back, "No, I guess not. Thanks, Mr. Norton."

"Anytime, Nara," he said as he left the room. _In a weird way, I feel a lot better._

"Hey, Nara," Odd said suddenly, poking his head through the doorway. "Jeremy wants to get more info from Sector 5 in Lyoko. You wanna come with?"

"Sure," I answered, standing up and walking out the door.

(F.F. to Factory Scanner Room)

"Which sector?" I asked before the elevator doors closed.

"We're trying the new program, going straight into Sector 5. Can you get there?" Aelita asked.

"Yeah, I think. If not, I'll ask Jeremy to send a transporter," I answered.

I touched my wristband and concentrated on Sector 5. When I opened my eyes, the blue sphere was spinning around me. "Hey, it actually worked," I said as the rest of the gang materialized beside me. First were Odd and Ulrich, then Yumi and Aelita. We waited for the chorosome to open, then we sprinted to the end of it. When we reached the main room, I suddenly flew up to the ceiling, the others doing the same. When I reached the ceiling, my head hit it, hard. I rubbed my head and looked down. "What the hell?" I muttered.

"It seems like the gravity in this room is reversed," Yumi mused.

"Screw gravity," I muttered under my breath, still rubbing my head, until something on the floor caught my eye. "There's the key!"

"And now you're down to two minutes to get to it," Jeremy informed.

"How are we supposed to get down to it?" Ulrich asked.

I sighed, "I'll get it." I focused dark energy into my hands, and then released it, aiming towards the ceiling. The force of the blast propelled me downward. It was slow going, but I kept this up until I reached the floor. I focused more energy into my hands, and used it as a suction cup on the floor.

"You have ten seconds, Nara," Jeremy told me.

"Hey, Jeremy, this is not a complex room," I said as I moved along. "How the heck will the room change if I don't get to the key in time?" I hit the key, and I fell from about three feet to the ground. Everyone else had to fall a much longer way. "I guess it doesn't really matter now."

"Anything wrong, Nara?" Aelita asked.

"Nope, I'm just in a bad mood," I responded.

"Is it about—" Odd started hesitantly.

"Actually, no," I smiled at him. "I'm over that now, or as over it as I'll ever be. I just hit my head _really_ hard on the ceiling."

"Let's get going, guys," Ulrich said, sprinting to the end of the room. We reached the elevator, and jumped on when it reached us. We ran along the arm when it stopped and ran to the outside of the sphere. Aelita ran up to the screen and started downloading files.

"We've got some Manta's, guys," Yumi said, pointing at three Flying Mantas coming our way. I created an energy shield with one hand, and focused a ball of energy in my hand. One of the Mantas took aim on me and shot, but I blocked it with my shield. I was pushed back a few inches by the blow. The same Manta shot repeatedly at me, each time I was pushed back farther and farther, until I reached the edge. The Manta shot once more, and I was knocked off the edge.

"Nara!" Odd cried out. I flung out my hand and grabbed the edge.

"That was close," I muttered. I looked ahead, and I couldn't believe my eyes. "What the heck is that?"

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O


	8. New Places, New Missions

Recap:

"We've got some Manta's, guys," Yumi said, pointing at three Flying Mantas coming our way. I created an energy shield with one hand, and focused a ball of energy in my hand. One of the Mantas took aim on me and shot, but I blocked it with my shield. I was pushed back a few inches by the blow. The same Manta shot repeatedly at me, and each time I was pushed back farther and farther, until I reached the edge. The Manta shot once more, and I was knocked off the edge.

"Nara!" Odd cried out. I flung out my hand and grabbed the edge.

"That was close," I muttered. I looked ahead, and I couldn't believe my eyes. "What the heck is that?"

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

I continued to hang from the side of the ledge as I peered at the thing in front of me.

"You alright, Nara?" Odd asked, about to help me up.

"Wait," I stopped him. "There's something under here."

"What is it?" Ulrich asked, coming over.

"I dunno," I said, squinting at the light engulfed opening. "I guess the opening to another sector."

"Are you serious?" Yumi asked, shocked.

"I'm dead serious," I said. With a thought, my board appeared in front of me, and I leapt onto it. "I'm not positive what it is, but I think we should check it out, Jeremy."

There was a pause. Then finally, "Alright," he answered. "There's nothing that says it's a trap, so we might as well explore."

I smiled, "Thanks, Jeremy."

"Now that that's settled," Aelita started, "who wants to go in first?"

"Dibs!" Odd and I yelled at once.

"No way, Nara!" Odd shouted. "I called it first!"

"Are you kidding me?" I yelled back. "I called it first. Besides, I found it."

"Look at them," Ulrich laughed, "arguing like an old married couple."

As Odd turned to say something to Ulrich, I took my chance, and flew to the light.

"Too slow, Odd!" I laughed. "Thanks for the distraction, Ulrich!"

"Hey!" Odd yelled. "You planned that?"

"Of course not," Ulrich smirked. "It just worked out that way."

I kept laughing as I flew through the opening, closing my eyes to the sudden brightness. I tried to open my eyes again, but it was too bright. I made sunglasses and put them on.

Bright didn't even begin to describe it. Even with my sunglasses, it was as bright as the longest day in summer at noon. The sector was bathed in light; even the platforms were radiating light.

"Um, Jeremy?" I asked as the others flew in. I noticed their eyes struggling to open and I materialized sunglasses for them as well. "Can I make a suggestion?"

"Sure, go ahead," he responded.

"I say that we name this the Light Region," I said.

"It sounds so painfully obvious," Odd said.

"Well, the Polar Region is basically a polar landscape," Yumi said.

"And the Forest Region is a forest," Aelita offered.

"Sector 5 doesn't describe the sector, though," Ulrich pointed out.

"But we didn't name that sector," I said. "And besides, what else are we gonna call it? Sector 6?"

"How about the Odd Region?" Odd suggested.

"First of all, no," I said. "Second of all, I found it anyway."

"Yeah, Odd, I think we're going with Nara's idea," Jeremy said.

"How about the Macaroni Region?" Odd suggested. We shook our heads and started to explore. "Sissy's annoying Region?"

We all laughed at that idea, but we all declined again. Odd continued to shout out ludicrous idea after ludicrous idea, when suddenly, Jeremy's frantic voice brought us back to our senses.

"We have a problem, guys," Jeremy said in a worried tone.

"What's wrong, Jeremy?" Aelita asked.

"Does the phrase 'the British are coming' mean anything to you?" he asked.

"What does the Revolutionary War have to do with this?" Yumi asked.

"Well, substitute British with X.A.N.A.'s monsters, and you'll have you're answer," Jeremy replied.

I shook my head, "Jeremy, worst seg-way ever." Jeremy chuckled lightly.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Where's the tower?" Odd asked.

"It's in this sector," Jeremy answered.

"Look out!" Aelita cried. "There're some Krabs over there!"

I looked over to the nearest platform, and my eyes fell upon four Krabs.

"I'm on it!" I said. I thought of an energy ball, and it appeared in my hand. But then, the energy ball flickered, and disappeared.

"What's going on?" Yumi asked. I tried again, but this time, nothing appeared.

"I don't get it!" I yelled. Suddenly, my sunglasses disappeared, along with the others'.

"We're useless if we can't see anything," Ulrich said.

"I'll try and get you guys some eye wear," Jeremy said.

"Guys, my board is faltering!" I yelled, feeling the board slowly disintegrate beneath my feet.

"Where are you?" Odd asked. _Right, no one can see anything,_ I remembered.

"Alright, your sunglasses are all materializing," Jeremy informed us.

"Hurry!" I yelled. Just as my glasses appeared in front of me, the board disappeared beneath my feet. Odd flew over and caught me on his overboard. "I don't like this," I said.

"Sorry the board isn't more comfortable," Odd smiled.

"I think she means that she can't use her powers," Aelita said.

Odd frowned, "Oh."

"Let's get rid of these Krabs, deactivate the tower, and get out of here," Ulrich said.

"But if I can't use my powers, you might not be able to either," I said, clinging to Odd's waist.

"Laser Arrow!" Odd yelled. His arrow hit X.A.N.A.'s mark on the Krab, and it shattered.

"So much for that theory," I sighed.

Yumi threw one of her fans at a Krab, and it shattered. Ulrich raced over to one of the Krabs and slashed it with his sword.

Aelita was getting ready to attack when a thought occurred to me. _Maybe she can't use her energy attack either,_ I thought.

"Energy Field!" Aelita yelled, destroying the final Krab. I sighed, _Nope, guess she can._

"Hurry up and deactivate the tower, Aelita," Jeremy said.

"We're not too far now, right?" I asked.

"Nara! What's happening?" Yumi asked worriedly.

"What?" I said, confused.

"Nara, you're disappearing!" Ulrich said.

"WHAT?" I yelled. I looked down at my body, and sure enough, my body was faltering.

"Jeremy, you better rematerialize her, quickly," Aelita said.

"What the heck is going on with me today?" I asked. "First the whole thing about Mr. Norton and my parents, then I hit my head on the ceiling—which, may I add, hurt like hell—and now, my powers don't work, and I'm disappearing! Wow, that's a lot."

"Yeah, it is," Odd laughed slightly. I laughed with him.

"Nara, I'm bringing you in," Jeremy informed. "Wait, hold on. Something's wrong."

"Now what?" I asked. "Oh, wait, I know. I need to get back on my own, with the wristband."

"That makes sense," Yumi said.

I touched my wristband, and was instantly transported to Jeremy's side.

"Good to see you, Nara," Jeremy smiled.

"Good to see me, too," I said, looking down at myself. "What the heck happened? And why did it only happen to me?"

"I'm not sure, but I'll get on it once we deactivate the tower," Jeremy responded.

"But what if it starts happening to the others?" I asked. "Shouldn't we bring them in?"

"For some reason, I think it will only happen to you," he answered. I gave him a confused look. "I'll look into it more when we finish this."

I sighed, knowing I had lost the debate, "Alright, let's get things going then." Suddenly, we heard a crash from above us. _I completely forgot about X.A.N.A.'s monsters,_ I thought. "I'm gonna go hold off X.A.N.A.'s monsters," I told Jeremy, heading to the elevator.

The long elevator ride gave me time to think over what had happened.

_Why was I the only one affected by that light? It's not like it was hot, like I was melting, I was just disappearing. I couldn't even use my energy attacks, but Aelita could. This is so confusing, this has never happened before._

The elevator stopped and the doors slowly opened. What faced me seemed unreal.

"Oh boy," I managed.

In front of me were three Krabs.

"Okay, this isn't fair," I complained, knowing full well it would change anything. "We aren't on Lyoko! I can't fight back!"

One of the Krabs shot at me, and I jumped and rolled out of the way. Next to me was a meter-long metal rod. As a Krab took aim, I instinctively grabbed the rod, and used it to deflect the laser. The deflected laser soared to a battered camera in the corner of the room. "Okay, it looks like we're doing things 'Ulrich' style," I said, squaring off with the Krabs.

I charged at one of the Krabs and slammed the rod on X.A.N.A.'s mark as hard as I could. The Krab stumbled a bit, but there wasn't any visible damage done.

"That's impossible!" I yelled, dodging a laser. "I hit it straight on!"

A thought suddenly came to mind. I ran between two Krabs who were ready to fire. As they fired, I jumped to the ground at the last second; my cell phone went flying out of my pocket. The two lasers hit the opposite Krab and they both shattered.

_So there's the secret. They can only destroy themselves._

Suddenly, my cell phone rang. I tried to reach for it, but before I could grab it, the last remaining Krab smashed it. The Krab stood menacingly in front of me.

_So, basically, now I'm screwed._

--With the gang--

The gang had reached the tower, but they were having trouble getting Aelita into it. They were at battle with a few Creepers.

"Laser Arrow!" Odd yelled, hitting one of the Creepers. As this Creeper shattered, another one appeared to take its place.

"More and more just keep showing up!" Ulrich yelled.

"At this rate, we'll never deactivate the tower," Yumi said.

"We have to try," Aelita said.

"Aelita, look out!" Ulrich said, running over to Aelita. A Creeper had shot a laser at her, but Ulrich got in the way and took the hit. "Hurry, Aelita, get to the tower," he said before he was de-virtualized.

--Ulrich's P.O.V.--

The scanner doors opened as I leaned against the wall of the scanner for support.

"Stupid Creepers," I muttered as I climbed out of the scanner. I made my way over to the elevator and went up to Jeremy's level.

The elevator doors slid open and I looked at Jeremy sitting at the computer. I walked closer to Jeremy's chair and noticed him trying to call someone. I scanned the room for Nara, but I didn't see her anywhere.

Jeremy turned around. "Good save, Ulrich," he said.

"Thanks," I said quickly. "Where's Nara?"

"She's upstairs," he answered. "There were a few Krabs, and she went to hold them off. During the battle, one of the lasers hit the security camera, so I can't see them anymore. I've been trying to contact her, but so far, no luck."

"I'll go up and see what's going on," I offered, going back to the elevator.

"Good luck," Jeremy said as the doors closed.

--Nara's P.O.V.--

I rolled away from the blast as the Krab aimed at me again for another shot. I knelt on the factory floor, panting.

_I can't keep this up,_ I thought. _If they don't deactivate the tower soon, I'm done for._

The Krab shot again, and I jumped out of the way, but this time, I wasn't balanced and I fell to the ground. I tried to push myself up, but my arms gave way and I fell back down. I tried to get up again, but I couldn't get up.

_I'm exhausted. I can barely move._

The Krab shot at me, and with the last of my strength, I rolled away from it. This time, when I tried to get up, I couldn't move at all. I tried with all my might to roll away, but I couldn't move. All I could do was look up at the Krab is it raised its leg above me. I closed my eyes as much as possible as the Krab's leg raced down towards me…

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O


End file.
